Hi
i really need some help i have no idea how to convert movies to play on my dvd or for instance how to change a mpg4 and havent found anything that explains it in plain easy dummys guide english i would be very grateful if anybody could suggest easy conversion software and even better what i have to do or something i can look at to learn how to go about this.
thank you for any help

Both will produce a finished dvd ready to burn to a disk. Just make sure to set the output to match the dvd specifications for your country. PAL is used in most of the world, the US and a few other nations use NTSC.

The very fastest and easiest way to convert any format to DVD is with the software called Convert X To DVD. It's so simple. All you do is click on the file you downloaded and it does the rest. It converts it, then burns it to disk. Be sure to use good quality blanks like Verbatum and Maxell. Stay away from the Memeorex or never use Sony DVDs or their players. They have copy protection in them and make it near impossible to play back any burned disk.

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

Robspace1
I am afraid you are mistaken about Sony dvds and Sony dvd players. Many people use their blank media and their players and have no issues with burned videos. Sony branded blank media does not, and cannot have copy protection of any kind. And a dvd player cannot distinguish between dvds that are copies of commercial products and those that are home made.

Sorry Kerry,
But your completely wrong on this and I suggest you read the Wiki article about the Sony Copy Protection scandal and the lawsuits that it generated. Sony has gone on record admitting their wrongdoing. They have said , as stated, that they will do whatever they have to to protect their investment. This includes using a rootkit virus that will not allow anyone to make copies that will playback. I bought a full stack of Sony blanks and not one of them worked. I had to toss the whole bunch and then I had to find some software that would remove the rootkit from my hard drive.

This program is not detected by any standard virus protection programs. It hides well and it takes special software to remove it, just as Sony wanted it to. This is not some paranoid scare talk, but the truth and it's a fact.
For the same reason, Sony DVD players, not all, but most, will not play back a copied movie. Now, how does that player know if the movie is a backup copy or a bootleg? It dosen't, so for that matter, it makes what Sony does, illegal as it sells DVD players that are supposed to record and playback all new disks for whatever format they are supposed to support. Bootleg movies are illegal, but, backup copies are not. So, they are selling a product that does not do what it's supposed to do.
If I sell someone a player and tell them it plays DVD-RW and DVD+RW, then it should play them. And it will, just fine, as long as it's not a copy.
Why do you suppose so many people are struggling to get their Sony players to read homemade videos? Do you think it's the media or the player or the operator?

In the case of Sony, the answer is the first two. If a person uses good media and just about any other player, they can play disks all day long.
I also know this because I also had a Sony player. I gave it away as it would not play burned disks. Yet, I can use my Pioneer player and it plays nearly everything I throw at it. Same media, same files, different player.

Now this Sony rootkit scandal happened a couple years ago, but, do you really think they have any intention of stopping? Sony makes movies as well as the players and media and as they have already said, they will" do whatever they have to to protect their investment"

If you read the whole article, and I hope everyone does, you can see that Sony, in it's haste to kill the pirates out there, did in fact, end up in court. They had a major product recall of their media and they were sued by several states for many reasons. They created a rootkit virus that had no uninstaller. There was no way to remove it and when finally forced to provide people a way to get this off their hard drives, they gave out another program that was even worse then the first one. They have no intention of allowing people to play burned cds or dvds.

Even though this scandal was over cd's, I would say it would only be an obvious assuption that they would also put this and/or some on dvds as well.
They may have stopped for a while or as I suspect, simply found another to replace the old one as people are still having way too many problems playing burned dvds. The players, the media. and maybe their own movies as well. They have, as they have already stated, every intention of blocking people playing copy disks. I refuse to buy any Sony products. There is way too many other great brands out there. I just bought acheap, $29.00 player for a friend. It plays anything!

Here is another article on this. This is from CNET NEWS:
Sony 'rootkit' prompts office clampdown on CD use
By Ingrid Marson

42 comments Yahoo! BuzzRelated Stories Microsoft will wipe Sony's 'rootkit'
November 13, 2005
Will Sony's DRM nightmare affect future policies?
November 12, 2005
FAQ: Sony's 'rootkit' CDs
November 11, 2005
Sony halts production of 'rootkit' CDs
November 11, 2005
Are these the Sony rootkit CDs?
November 10, 2005
Antivirus firms target Sony 'rootkit'
November 9, 2005
Sony CD protection sparks security concerns
November 1, 2005 Sony's decision to include rootkit-like copy restrictions on some of its music CDs is prompting some companies to review whether they allow their staff to use personal CDs at work.
Last week, Trojan horses emerged that avoid detection by using the digital rights management, or DRM, software used by Sony BMG Music Entertainment on some of its audio CDs. This software uses the same techniques used by rootkit malicious software to hide itself from the operating system, which makes it particularly difficult to detect.

Andrew Yeomans, vice president of global information security at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said that he is already assessing whether the Europe-based investment bank needs to tighten up its controls.

Reader response
What should Sony do?
Debate how the debacle will
affect the label's policies."I'm reviewing the autorun settings for music CDs, but not planning to ban their use," Yeomans said. "We certainly don't want arbitrary software to be installed."

Yeomans added that the bank cannot prevent all its employees from running executable programs from a CD or download. That's because some people have to be given administrator rights to use certain applications, which would allow them to override such restrictions.

Richard Starnes, president of the Information Systems Security Association, said that other companies should consider whether they need a policy on CD use.

"This is certainly something that would trigger a review of policies. I would advise companies to review the situation," Starnes said.

"If it's solely a Sony issue, it is easier for a company to make a decision that it will not allow particular Sony CDs. But if it becomes widespread, then it becomes difficult to decide what CDs are allowed or not allow," added Starnes, who was speaking before Sony announced it had stopped producing CDs containing the rootkit-like software, called XCP.

Other companies have confirmed that they are also watching the situation closely.

"Something that can get in and hide itself would have the security people screaming their heads off," said the capacity manager at one major financial firm, who asked to remain anonymous.

"Up until now, they thought that audio CDs are safe. I think that will change, and I wouldn't be surprised if every major bank changed their policy. The fact that this software can be used to hide other stuff means that the possibilities for getting at customer data are horrendous," he added.

Opposition to Sony's behavior has been fierce, with threats of boycotts and even legal action.

Here's another one:

Texas Sues Sony BMG Over Rootkits
from the don't-mess-with-texas dept
Sony BMG execs may not think their rootkits are spyware, but the Texas attorney general doesn't agree, announcing that the state has filed a civil lawsuit against Sony BMG for violating an anti-spyware law enacted earlier this year. The attorney general's office said that Sony BMG CDs that feature the rootkits were still on sale in stores in the state as late as Sunday, even though the company had said they'd all been recalled. Sony could be liable for up to $100,000 per violation of the anti-spyware law, and the state says there were at least thousands of violations. While it's unlikely they'll have to pay the maximum amount for each alleged violation, this could turn into a big financial (in addition to PR) mess for Sony. There will probably be more suits like this filed in other states, class-action suits from consumers, and even potential copyright damages. So, all of that to stop Celine Dion songs from being pirated. Was it worth it, Sony?

And then two years after they were caught at this, they were caught again, putting more rootkit in, so, do you really think they have stopped doing this? Or do you think they may just continue this program and find more ways to try to hide this illegal virus on our hard drives?
If you have used much blank Sony media, there's a real good chance you have this on your hard drive now and to remove it, you will need to find a program that specializes in removing it. Most are not free, but I did find one. I can't remember the name now but until this bug is located and removed from the hard drive, you can expect to have alot of playback problems with burned disks. Please read:

Researchers spot rootkits on more Sony USB drives
Software, still on the Web, can be used by hackers to cloak malware
By Gregg Keizer
August 30, 2007 12:00 PM ETComments (12)Recommended (104)FacebookTwitterShare
Computerworld - A second line of USB drives sold by Sony Electronics Inc. that uses rootkit tactics to hide files has been identified, and the devices' software remains on the Web, a researcher said today.

Hackers using just one of the package's files can mask their attack code from some security scanners, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at Helsinki, Finland-based F-Secure Corp. "This new rootkit [which can still be downloaded] can be used by any malware author to hide any folder."

On Monday, F-Secure announced that the fingerprint-reader software included with Sony's MicroVault USM-F flash drives stores files in a hidden directory that could be used by hackers to cloak their malicious code. F-Secure noted that the USM-F models were difficult, but not impossible to find. Sony has since confirmed that the line has been discontinued.

But its replacement, the USM512FL, is widely available, and shares the rootkit-like techniques of its predecessor. "They have the same functionality in the latest as well," said Hypponen.

Sony has removed the download links for the USM-F and USM512FL software from its MicroVault support site, but Computerworld was easily able to locate a live link -- and download the software -- by searching through Google's cache.

Since F-Secure disclosed Sony's newest rootkit snafu, several other research teams have confirmed the company's findings. On Tuesday, McAfee Inc. analysts agreed that hackers could use one of the executable files in the USB drive software to hide any folder, and all the files in that folder, from the prying eyes of security scanners. "Alternately, [attackers] could simply hide their malicious creations in the default installation directory itself," McAfee researchers Aditya Kapoor and Seth Purdy said in a post to the Avert Labs' blog.

Kapoor and Purdy also identified FineArt Technology Co., a Taiwanese developer, as the makers of the fingerprint-reading MicroVault software. On its Web site, FineArt touts Fingerprint Disk, a suite of tools for authenticating fingerprint-access and encrypting files and folders. FineArt could not be reached Thursday because of time zone differences.

"[Their] apparent intent was to cloak sensitive files related to the fingerprint verification feature included on the USB drives," said Kapoor and Purdy. "However, in this case the authors apparently did not keep the security implications in mind."

U.K.-based Sophos PLC also confirmed the presence of rootkit technologies in the FineArt-created software bundled with the MicroVault drives.

Sony, meanwhile, was still looking into the claims as of late Wednesday, said spokesman Tom Di Nome, who had little to share. "We are still investigating this and are taking the issue very seriously," he said.

These latest rootkit charges are not the first to be leveled against Sony. Nearly two years ago, security researchers spotted rootkit-like cloaking technologies used by the copy-protection software that Sony BMG Music Entertainment installed on PCs when customers played the label's audio CDs. The Federal Trade Commission later alleged that Sony had violated federal law and settled with the company earlier this year. Before that, Sony paid out nearly $6 million to settle cases with the U.S.

The concern now is that attackers will use the FineArt/Sony files -- which can still be downloaded from Sony's Web site -- to add invisibility to their exploits.

But in a blog posting this morning, F-Secure's Hypponen stressed that while the MicroVault and Sony BMG cases are similar, this newest security breakdown is not as flagrant. "The fingerprint driver does not hide its folder as 'deeply' as does the XCP [the rootkit-style software developed by Fortium Technologies Ltd. for use by Sony BMG] folder," said Hypponen. "The MicroVault software probably wouldn't hide malware as effectively from [some] real-time antivirus scanners."

Are you serious? Do you really think that Sony, who is one of the biggest movie making companies in the world, would not put this same rootkit or something similar on their blank dvds as well? That makes no sense as that is a major revenue source and as they already stated they won't let anything get in the way of that source. How do you explain all the consumer complaints from so many, that have tried and failed to play either Sony media or use Sony players to play burned dvds?

When a $50.00 player will play anything and an expensive Sony refuses a burned disk, what's the problem as you see it?
Sony has been caught already and paid out millions in lawsuits over this.
They have as much credibilty as BP.
Here's one more article for you, then I;m done. If the people want to continue trying and failing with Sony, fine, but I've been burning movies with about a 90% success rate for years and I do know what I'm talking about. Don't use Sony folks. Please read:

Sony copy protection taking heat again: now DVDs won't play
By Erik Hanson posted Apr 16th 2007 4:14PM Reports continue to filter in about DVDs that refuse to play on standard players from Toshiba, LG, Pioneer, Sony, and others. The culprit is titles that utilize Sony's ARccOS copy protection scheme, such as Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," The Weinstein Company's "Lucky Number Slevin," and Sony's "Casino Royale," "The Holiday," and "Stranger Than Fiction." ARccOS artificially scrambles sectors on the disc in an attempt to keep users from ripping the disc to a drive. Many older (or less sophisticated) players simply skip these corrupted areas as unreadable and continue on. Computers -- and unfortunately, some newer players -- try to perform error correction on these areas and fail playback. When contacted, Sony seems to deny the problem, much like Microsoft and the 360 disc scratching, and simply passes the buck onto the player manufacturers to upgrade their firmware. Meanwhile, many users have simply downloaded programs to bypass the protection and make copies without the "defect." So, is this a rootkit-like class action lawsuit in the making? Is it just overblown hype over a few players that don't follow standards? Another example of copy protection that bites legitimate users and ignores the real problem? And do average consumers even care?

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

Arccos is old news. Yes, it did cause some problems with some older players. But this is generally not a problem. It is not specific to Sony as there are other companies that use structural protections that cause the same type of problems with some players. Rare to see this problem on any modern players by the way.

But there is no way they can place protection on blank dvds. That sort of thing simply doesn't exist outside the imagination of the paranoid delusionals out there. If a player can play -R or +R disks, there is no way for it to recognize anything about the disk past that information. The player cannot tell if the data on the disk is a copy of a commercial dvd or if it is a home made video.

If there was some type of playback protection mechanism in the Sony dvd players, we would have been aware of this many years ago. That sort of thing would be reported by users immediately. There are no widespread reports of this! Some players are picky about burned media, yes. But Sony players do not stand out as being exceptionally so.

We have been following development of dvd players, dvd software and dvd protections for over ten years here at MyCE, and I can tell you that there is no specific protection placed in the Sony players.

You can believe what you want to and ignore the facts from many sources as I have shown you. Sony has been caught by many as having installed anti piracy software and they have admitted as much.They have declared war on pirates and if people that are just using the media to back up files have problems with playing it back, o well.
The way Sony see this is that they will do whatever they have to to stop the illegal production of their movies and others. They do use rootkits and other software to block the burned media and this is real eveident in the number of complaints from many people.
Not just this small forum but by many large forums that have millions of downloaders. I'm afraid your statements have no validity and are just not factual. If you do some research on this, I am real confident you will see that what I'm saying is right.

The company has paid millions in fines but they don't seem to care as the problem continues as stated by your own posters. Sony has not stopped using antipiracy software. It is either installed in the media or the player or both and if you really take the time to check other burning forums, you'll see this is a major problem.
Most people that have been through this have excepted the fact that Sony is doing this and have just elected to switch products. And yes, the virus/software they have does know the difference bewteen a store bought movie and a home made one. In most cases the home made movie won't play on the newer Sony players.

Most experts suggest getting the cheapest player you can find and never a Sony. The older players have a much higher success rate playing burned dvds then do the newer ones. And never buy Sony-hey, they got caught, paid the fines, but, have not stopped this war on piracy, why should they?

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

What you are being told is there are none of the Sony Rootkits on BURNABLE DVDs or CDs.
There were many years ago Sony rootkits on commercial pressed CDs.
I accidently ran into one of these & it did cause a minor problem till I tracked it down.It was from an old CD.
I fixed it with shexview.exe which found a Sony Context Menu handler. After removing that I had no problem.
A simple test for Sony rootkits is :
Create a new text document on your desktop named $sys$test . If the Sony rootkit is on your computer this file will disappear. You might need to reboot for this to happen. If it remains then no Sony rootkit.

Cholla,
What was found was on Sony cds in 2005. These rootkits were found and the company admitted they had installed this and it does attach to the hard drive. Now, in 2007, as shown in one of the articles I posted, they were again found on new Sony drives. This rootkit allows an easy path for a virus.
So, now , today we stll have Sony movies not playing after backup copies are made, and many people are still experiencing many problems when they try to play any burned movies on Sony DVD players. Is this just a coinicidence or would you think that maybe Sony is continuing their personal war on pirates and bootleg movies?
If you have used any blank Sony cds or dvds in the past, there's a real good chance you have this antipiracy rootkit on your computer. It's not easy to find, most antivirus programs can't see it. As for their personal antipiracy war,

that's fine, and I would want to protect my product to. But, for them to use any software that makes playing legally burned cds or dvd impossible, is illegal. My own experience with their players is that they have not stopped this program at all. I had one of their players for a short time. It was brand new a year ago. It would not play burned dvds. They play fine on my other two players. I got rid of the Sony and so have many other people.

I was also one of their victims around 2 years ago, I bought a whole stack of their blank cds from Target. None played! I was able to burn songs to them just fine but none would play in my car. The songs were all scrambled and distorted. I had to throw away the whole lot.
I used Maxell and had no problem.
I'm done playing games with Sony and if anyone is having any of these problems and you have burned the cd or dvd right and used good media and your Sony rejects it, well, you know why. Try it on another player and 9 times out of ten, it will work. When Sony stated that they" would do whatever it takes to protect their investment", that about says it all. They don't want you to make copies of any music and/or any movies. They lose money on it and they don't like it and they will try hard to stop it. Switch brands-problem solved.

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

I actually don't own any Sony products. Maybe that's why I haven't had the playing problem. I haven't ever used any Sony blank discs of any kind.
I mostly use Verbatim but I have used some store brands like Office Depot.
When I temporarily got infested with the Sony rootkit .I was making a backup of an old commercial Sony CD. I forgot to enable AnyDVD before loading this CD. I almost never do that but messed up that time. AnyDVD will stop the Sony rootkit cold. I've tested with the offending CD & no problem. I sure haven't tested this CD without AnyDVD enabled & I don't intend to.
So I know Sony rootkit can strike on even a not too old system.

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

That's interesting and good to know that AnyDVD can find it. Most programs miss it. I do use DVD43 for CSS removal. It sits there and removes the copy protection anytime a disk is downloaded. If you want to see more Sony complaints about their protection program go to this site. It's good and there's some Sony reps talking about this war of theirs. Basically, they blew it and it's been a pr nightmare for them. I support their wanting to stop piracy but not when a person spends hundreds on a player and it won't work to even play Sony made original movies! They went to far. Check this out:

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

Quote:

If you have used any blank Sony cds or dvds in the past, there's a real good chance you have this antipiracy rootkit on your computer. It's not easy to find, most antivirus programs can't see it. As for their personal antipiracy war,

This is unsubstantiated, and simply not possible. Period.

I've used Sony brand dvds, with NO playback issues. Sony brand dvd players play burned dvds with NO problems if the dvds in question were made properly and burned well.

Sony brand blu ray players are some of the best for playing back burned blu ray movies, and commercial blu ray disks have some of the toughest antipiracy measures ever seen. Sony's support for AVCHD makes their players a good choice for anyone who wishes to playback blu ray burned to single or double layer dvds. All blu ray players playback burned BD-R and BD-RE disks well, so it is natural that the Sony players do this also. If Sony were so adamant about fighting piracy through technological means in their players, none of this would be so.

Its hard to persuade against irrationally held beliefs, but I've done what I can here.

Re: learning how to convert downloaded movies to play on my dvd player

lol-all you have done since I first responded with proof of this rootkit is deny it even exists. You started by saying Sony never had such a thing installed on their disks. Then when I showed you the actual documentation and their own admission that they did use this to try to stop piracy, you play it down.
Then I showed you where they have been caught and fined millions of dollars for using this illegal virus and you still try to tell people that Sony is a good company? Would you say that BP is also a good company? One that can be trusted? When these big outfits are caught lying and cheating the public, they need to be exposed,. In Sony's case they have continued to ignore the consumer and go ahead with their illegal rootkits and other antipiracy software in their attempt to stop it.

No, I won't buy anything Sony. Why would I? They like to infect my computer,just like your other poster just stated. She was able to find the Sony rootkit on her hard drive and remove it. How many other people out there have also used Sony cds and dvds also have this hidden virus, thanks to Sony? Alot, thats how many.
The disks they infected were produced for alot longer then they admitted to. I bought my bad Sony bundle just 2 years ago and had to throw it all away. Not one good blank on the whole stack was any good. So, I'm real glad that Microsoft has a free scan and removal for this now available. I'm scanning for it again, right now, using the Malicious Software Removal program. It can now find it and anyone that uses/used Sony blanks should do a scan for this virus.